At the present time, the available awakening devices are usually incorporated in alarm clocks during manufacture thereof. Such available devices consist of either buzzers, bells, or other sound-producing means whereby a sleeper is awakened by the sound thereof. Such sound-producing devices for awakening are particularly intended for persons with normal hearing senses, thus unless the sleeper hears the alarm from the clock he cannot wake up by the manner intended. Furthermore, when two or more persons are sleeping in the same room, as in school dormitories, health or mental institutions, or certain homes, the sound from the clock alarm is not desirable because the sound will awaken other sleeping persons in the same room and possibly in other rooms when the bedroom doors are open, as usually they are, in a home. There has been occasions when a sleeper in a room containing other sleepers has hidden the alarm clock under his pillow so that he only can hear the sound of the alarm; however, such a procedure has not been completely satisfactory because by the time the clock is removed from underneath the pillow and the alarm stopped, sufficient time is elapsed between the removal of the clock and stopping the alarm as to awaken other people therein. The method is also cumbersome and annoying to the person using the clock under such conditions for awakening him.
A blind person as well as a normal person can be awakened by the use of conventional methods using alarm clocks. However, the same condition that prevails as for a normal person also prevails with blind person who happens to be sleeping in the same room with others. Furthermore, these methods of awakening are useless to a deaf person, since he cannot hear and be awakened by an acoustic means.
Other methods, such as the use of a high-intensity light projected on a sleeping person's face or on the ceiling having a reflective surface, such as a smooth white paint, have also been tried and found to be useless schemes because if a sleeper is not facing the light, which may be projecting, for example, from the left side of the sleeper and said sleeper may be sleeping on his right side or on his face, thus making the procedure or the method undesirable because unless the light is incident on the eyelids of the sleeper it will have no effect on the sleeper. The same condition is also true with a sleeping deaf person because of the same reasoning as stated.
It is thus seen that these earlier awakening devices or methods are not absolutely dependable, and consequently a device or system has been necessitated which will awaken a person, whether deaf, blind, or normal, without any limitation of conditions as imposed by the present methods. Consequently, the present invention has been created and developed to elimiate the disadvantages imposed by the present methods of awakening a sleeper. The present invention is reasonably simple in construction but is unique and effective in its method of operation. Furthermore, the system is adapted to be converted by a flick of a switch thereon into a relaxing and soothing device; the circuits to perform these functions have already been incorporated in the system. Also, the user of the latter mode of operation is not necessarily a sleeper but physically tired people, senior citizens having some form of bodily aches, tense muscles due to their sedentary conditions or age, and pain in muscles due to some type of organic illness can use the device to their advantage for these conditions or for awakening pusposes, or sickroom signalling for help from others, as will be understood from a review of the description in the specification.
The conversion of the device from one mode of operation, such as awakening a sleeper, to another mode of operation, such as relaxing and soothing a person with tired and aching muscles, enhances the system a double-function duty and makes it a useful, efficient, and positive-acting device. In addition, in another mode of operation using an illuminating lamp the device functions for signalling by a sick or bedridden person to others in the household to administer medicine or other necessities of life preservation.